Testing Your Leadership Vision

December 01, 2014

Mark Sanborn

NYT's Bestselling author, Consultant and Communicator

Leaders frequently hear Proverbs 29:18  quoted: “without a vision the people perish.”

Less often considered: without people, the vision perishes.

Any vision is accomplished through the efforts of those you lead. That means the vision needs to be understood, not at an abstract level, but at a practical level your team can understand, support and act upon.

How do you know if your vision is effective?  Ask your team members these four questions:

Question #1:  “Do you know what our vision is?” Ask everyone of them that question and find out if they’re all answering the same way.  If they hold the same vision for the future.

Question #2:  “Were you involved in creating  the  vision?”  In other words, did they get input into crafting the vision? Involvement increases commitment.

Question 3:  “Is our vision of the future a place that you want to be?”   Many visions fail because they don’t represent the best interest of all stakeholders. If team members are going to help achieve the vision, they will be highly motivated to do so if the vision is appealing to them, not just management and shareholders.

Question 4:  “Does our vision help you in day-to-day decision making?” This question tests for practicality. If the vision doesn’t offer clear guidance for information decisions and behavior, it isn’t practical.

If your team can answer affirmatively to these four questions, you’ll know that you have a vision that’s more than rhetoric and that gives people practical guidance and direction. Your vision passes the test when it empowers others to live and fulfill it.

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Source: Mark Sanborn